French ship Impétueux (1803)
# French ship Impétueux (1803)

Impétueux was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Launched at Lorient, France, on 24 January 1803 as Brutus, she was renamed Impétueux on 5 February 1803.

Impétueux served in the Caribbean under Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez during the Atlantic campaign of 1806.

On 19 August 1806, Impétueux was dismasted in a storm and drifted until 10 September 1806. On 14 September 1806, she was chased by Sir Richard John Strachan's Royal Navy squadron comprising HMS Belleisle, HMS Bellona and HMS Melampus; unable to fight, she beached herself in the Chesapeake Bay. Her wreck was set ablaze by the British and the crew was taken prisoner.

